Does your Significant Other cook?

[crazypants]

I'm reading the thread about spouses who don't like food you love, and was curious.

How often does your significant other cook for you?
Do they have skill in the kitchen?
If you went on chef strike, would they live on Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches and Chinese take out?
Do they have one or two dishes they can tackle and when they make it for you (on a special occasion), the kitchen looks like a bomb went off?

With me- I am the cook. People get scared when I'm in the kitchen because I move really fast and am intensely focused, (so apparently I look pissed off). My girlfriend doesn't really. She took some cooking classes, but doesn't enjoy it and refuses to handle many ingredients, so that really limits the dishes she can make. She is the master baker though.

[onawhim]

I am the cook.  It is my zen place so I do not mind and I cook everyday.   My spouse can make a few things but tends to live on take out when I am away. 

[caribougrrl]

we both cook... it took us about 8 years to learn how to share a kitchen

[Natasha]

He makes weekend breakfasts. Bacon, pancakes or waffles, eggs, and coffee.  He can also heat up a can of soup and make a grilled cheese. I think he would like to do more but has this idea that it's hard.  He offers to help occasionally but it's a little aggravating because he asks so many questions to make sure that he's doing it right, like is he cutting the onions the right size. He's lived with me for 20 years!  He knows that my cooking isn't that precise. 

[Magic Microbe]

My husband thinks cooking involves microwaving a lean cuisine or eating out so yes I cook. If he is offering to cook it means he wants to go get a nasty hot and ready pizza.

I do like cooking and hate cleaning up so it works for us. I cook, he cleans.

[onawhim]

My spouse also cleans 

[merigayle]

How often does your significant other cook for you? Never, he used to, but his version of cooking is using a TON of oil on everything and i stopped eating the food he made.
Do they have skill in the kitchen? yes, lots of it, he is a really good cook.
If you went on chef strike, would they live on Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches and Chinese take out? probably just out of sheer laziness.
Do they have one or two dishes they can tackle and when they make it for you (on a special occasion), the kitchen looks like a bomb went off? always looks like a bomb went off in there.

[The Turtle Whisperer]

How often does your significant other cook for you?  Once every 2-3 yrs or so....
Do they have skill in the kitchen?  She has a couple of things she does very well, but overall, no... she'll start one thing cooking and not start anything else until that item is fully cooked... 
If you went on chef strike, would they live on Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches and Chinese take out?  She'd survive.  She is not high maintenance in regards to what she'll eat. 

[rocketgirl]

In my marriage, really neither of us cooked more than occasionally.  He would put something on the grill.  Once in a blue moon I'd make something for real (or at least whatever we marinated the meat to be grilled in). 

I have cooked a few times for the guy that I am whatevering with.  He has sliced things for me when I cooked.  And he has made breakfasts (like eggs and bacon, or waffles).  And frozen pizza.  I don't think he can cook, based on how impressed he seems with MY cooking.  My cooking ain't all that.

I am probably doomed to be be a non-cook dating non-cooks.

[witchypoo]

we both cook.  we're both good at it.

[nadra24]

Kenyan makes good pizza, and when we have breakfast food he makes the bacon and eggs.  We have a really tiny kitchen that doesn't really have space for more than one person, so I tend to banish him from the kitchen when I am cooking.  When we move into a bigger house I will enjoy the company, and based on the pride he takes in his pizzas and eggs I think he will enjoy cooking if he gets more experience doing it.

I suspect his diet mainly consisted of Subway and Domino's before we got married, with the occasional flatbread pizza and home cooked tacos rounding things out. 

Fortunately I enjoy cooking, and I only work part time so I have plenty of time to make dinner.  My only challenge is coming up with what to make for dinner. 

[diablita]

How often does your significant other cook for you?  never
Do they have skill in the kitchen?  zero
If you went on chef strike, would they live on Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches and Chinese take out?  canned corn and Chinese buffet
Do they have one or two dishes they can tackle and when they make it for you (on a special occasion), the kitchen looks like a bomb went off?  nope

[LizardMixture]

I cook, but I'm not great at it. I just make basic stuff and get pretty bored of the same things. If I went on strike, DH could handle grilling burgers or making sloppy Joe's. Raw chicken squicks him out bigtime though.

[radial]

Hahahahah.  No.

[cgraz]

I know he must have cooked something at some point, considering he was solidly in his thirties by the time we met and he had made it that far without starving...but I'm not sure it went much beyond use of the Foreman to make frozen burgers.

These days his repertoire is limited to things like eggs and bacon, instant oatmeal, and other breakfast items. This is largely a do-it-yourself breakfast sort of household. I cook everything else. He even asks me how long he should nuke a plate of leftovers, every time. He loves salad, but when I've bought stuff to make it and pointed him in that direction, he says he doesn't know how to make salad. 

With direction, he could be ok, but since the kitchen is so small and I love to cook, I have pretty much thrown him out when I'm cooking. Lately I've been trying to stop doing that, because he's shown an interest in how things are prepared. So I've set him up to prep things - cut veggies, etc. - to help me out and he's done just fine.

So if I went on strike, maybe he'd revert back to burgers, or eat a lot of pizza.

[Schrödinger’s Bat]

We each take care of ourselves when it comes to food. We eat at drastically different times. So 99% of the time we eat separately.

He makes a mean veggie stir fry, though, and on occasion will make it for me.

I will cook for him on occasion - my standard is chicken parmasean, meatballs, or chili.

I should cook more. I don't mind him not cooking for me at all. I'm too picky and mostly non-interested in food to care.

[Newt]

She can boil the shit out of various vegetables on occasion. I do the majority of all cooking....but her kids hate my cooking (too many strange things). They would be happy eating 3 or 4 meals in rotation FOREVER. My kids like my cooking, of course.

I try to keep introducing new things and keeping the variety high. They are slowly coming around.

[crazypants]

My only challenge is coming up with what to make for dinner. 

Chicken Schnitzel on a bed of yellow peppers, zucinni and arborio rice (NOT made as a risoto). Pair with a Chilean Merlot. End with apple crumble.

You're welcome.

[seattlegirl]

DBF used to cook for a living, and he is very good at it.  He makes a couple of big meals on the weekends so that we have leftovers.  Last weekend he made a braised pork thing with sort of North African spices.  I cook on Wednesdays because I have either a whole or half-day off.  I am not as confident with meat, and often either make a veggie thing or revert to my midwestern casserole roots.

I usually do any baking that is done, though he does make a mean skillet cornbread.   

[monster2]

I am the cook, I like it so I don't mind.  I know he can follow recipes but he panicks if we are out of something or he doesn't understand the directions.  I know I have told this story a million times but it still makes me laugh, I wrote out directions for roasted potato wedges for him to make one night, and when I got home they were still in the oven, I asked what had taken so long and he explained that it took forever to brush each wedge with olive oil.... I had put all the spices and the olive oil right next to a very large bowl, I assumed he would put everything in the bowl and stir it up...

[Courtney]

I am the cook, I like it so I don't mind.  I know he can follow recipes but he panicks if we are out of something or he doesn't understand the directions.  I know I have told this story a million times but it still makes me laugh, I wrote out directions for roasted potato wedges for him to make one night, and when I got home they were still in the oven, I asked what had taken so long and he explained that it took forever to brush each wedge with olive oil.... I had put all the spices and the olive oil right next to a very large bowl, I assumed he would put everything in the bowl and stir it up...

My spouse doesn't cook, really.  He will make himself eggs & fried potatoes, or ramen, or warm up leftovers.  He does grill when we do that. 

[ecodork]

How often does your significant other cook for you? Pretty much everyday
Do they have skill in the kitchen? You bet!
If you went on chef strike, would they live on Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches and Chinese take out? No, see above
Do they have one or two dishes they can tackle and when they make it for you (on a special occasion), the kitchen looks like a bomb went off? No, he's a neat freak in the kitchen

Early on in our relationship, my DH admitted that he was "alpha chef in the kitchen" - he has a hard time letting go. In some ways it works well because I commute much further for work, so by the time I get home, dinner is usually almost ready.

But I have struggled with it. I use to think of myself as a decent cook, but now I don't get to practice much. And when I do get the chance, I'm wary because I'm nervous it won't turn out well (see above comment about lack of practice). The other thing that is somewhat annoying about the situation is that DH is less likely than me to want to try new dishes. Thankfully he has a big repertoire.

There are a few things that I do well in the kitchen that compliment his cooking. Somehow I've turned into the sauce person - hot sauces, salad dressings, etc. Also, I make killer ice cream!

[AmyAmyAmy]

My love made bacon pancakes for me last weekend, which made me love him even more. 

[diablita]

 

[wherestheportojohn]

Bwahahahaha.

 


Nope.

[diablita]

Porty!!!

[wherestheportojohn]

Dev!   

[AmyAmyAmy]

Dev!   

OMG!! 

[Schrödinger’s Bat]

Bwahahahaha.

 


Nope.

WTH! Long time no see, Lady!

[wherestheportojohn]

I've been hiding in the PRT.
 

Let's all laugh again about my husband not cooking.
 

[diablita]

mine too

 

(but he's a really good husband and Dad so he gets a pass on the cooking thing)

[omega lambda]

How often does your significant other cook for you? It is so rare I would have to say never.
Do they have skill in the kitchen?  He could, but it doesn't interest him.
If you went on chef strike, would they live on Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches and Chinese take out? Yes!
Do they have one or two dishes they can tackle and when they make it for you (on a special occasion), the kitchen looks like a bomb went off? He occasionally bakes cakes for my birthday and no, it doesn't look like a bomb detonated.

I am the cook, I really enjoy cooking and he really enjoys eating.  It works for us, since I don't really like cutting down trees and mowing 20 acres. 

[VP of Tea]

DH cooks every day. He is an excellent cook, pretty much the best amateur I know. So I eat very well. There are several dishes I don't bother to eat at restaurants because what I get at home is usually better (linguini with clams, for instance). He is also a very messy cook, so I definitely do earn my keep by doing the clean-up.

If we're both busy, we eat a lot of sandwiches. I love sandwiches so it works for me. i work late on Thursdays and he typically still cooks dinner just for himself. Usually things I'm not that crazy about, like chicken piccata or some such.

I cook maybe twice a year, if that. Usually it involves a dish from my childhood, like endive-with-mashed-potatoes and meat balls, or belgian endives with ham and cheese from the oven. We just had the belgian endive dish yesterday, but he still made the mashpo's and salad.

[rocketgirl]

I don't really care for my stepmother, but I think it's cool how she and my Dad cook together.

The guy that I am sort of whatevering with helps when I cook - chopping things, stirring things, pouring me another glass of wine...I like that.    

[triciaflower]

I do most of the cooking. DH is a good cook, but he doesn't really plan anything until he starts cooking. This sometimes leads to unfortunate spice combos. Also, he is not good at making something out of 'whatever is in the fridge.'

I need to have at least a rough plan when I start, so I can know what flavors I want to achieve. Last night I open the fridge to see what I had to work with. I saw we had chicken, and cilantro. I also found a jalapeno hiding in the veggie bin.  I sauteed the chicken with onions, garlic, lime and jalapenos. When it was done, threw in the cilantro and Boom.. instant dinner.

There is NO WAY he could have come up with that.